A big game is to be held later today at the Vitality, with Newcastle United looking to go level on points with Bournemouth after what has been an unbelievable turn around from Rafa Benitez and his men. The run can’t end now, right?

Finally, it looks as though the Spaniard and his squad are on the same page and performing the way a Newcastle side should be. The Toon Army will be travelling down south with all the confidence in the world after their incredible come back last week against Everton. Indeed, it truly was a Premier League classic.

Still, Benitez must answer questions against an Eddie Howe side who are looking to build off their solid 0-2 away win against Huddersfield, in what is a huge game for the Magpies. Win, and that might just be survival guaranteed.

With that in mind, we take a look at a couple of changes the gaffer could make.

Drop Matt Ritchie 

Matt Ritchie has been suffering from a run of poor form of late, and after being subbed against Everton before the magic began, missing a penalty. To be honest, he has looked the shadow of his former self lately, largely because he’s been performing two roles at once.

Not having scored since the memorable 2-1 win over Manchester City, the Magpies will need to look elsewhere in the squad until the Scottish international can get back to being devastating in the final third.

Start Kenedy 

Despite struggling to get a real foothold in the squad this season, Kenedy will be looking to his past performance against Bournemouth earlier this season to inspire him. Grabbing his only assist this season against Bournemouth in the 2-1 home win, he will be hoping that a start would help provide the same sort of lift to bring all three points back to St. James’.

Newcastle fans will be remembering the form of Kenedy towards the end of last season, a form that lifted the Toon up and helped pave a way for survival. Is it too late for the 23-year-old to push on and recapture that same late-season form?

أعلن الاتحاد البلجيكي لكرة القدم عودة النجم كيفين دي بروين إلى نادي مانشستر سيتي، حيث لن يشارك أمام منتخب آيسلندا في دوري الأمم الأوروبية.

ويلتقي المنتخبان يوم الأربعاء في الجولة الرابعة من المجموعة الثانية في المستوى الأول من البطولة المذكورة.

وشارك دي بروين في مباراة الأمس أمام منتخب إنجلترا في الجولة الثالثة، والتي انتهت بخسارة بلجيكا بهدفين مقابل هدف.

ولم يستكمل لاعب الوسط اللقاء، حيث خرج في الدقيقة 73، وأثار المدرب روبيرتو مارتينيز القلق حول إصابته (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

وتسبب الاتحاد البلجيكي في إثارة المزيد من القلق لدى مانشستر سيتي، حيث أكد أن دي بروين لن يكون متاحًا للمشاركة في مباراة بعد الغد.

وأكد الاتحاد البلجيكي، عبر حسابه الرسمي بموقع “تويتر”، أن دي بروين عاد إلى مانشستر سيتي حيث إنه ليس لائقًا لمواجهة آيسلندا.

يُذكر أن مانشستر سيتي سيواجه آرسنال يوم السبت القادم، في الجولة الخامسة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

Heading into the second leg of a European tie 3-1 down is no easy challenge for any team, but on Thursday night, that is the exact task Arsenal must overcome.

After breezing past one big challenge on the weekend in the form of Manchester United, Unai Emery must do the same thing in midweek when Stade Rennais roll into town.

The Ligue 1 side swept the Gunners aside last week at their home ground and now it’s all to play for in north London with Arsenal desperately looking to overturn what potentially could be a dangerous outcome for the club.

Thankfully, there is some good news going into the crunch game on Thursday as Alexandre Lacazette is set to return (as per Sky Sports) to the Arsenal team after his initial three-match ban was reduced to two matches, making him available for this game.

The weekend’s result showed just how important Lacazette’s presence on the pitch is for the Arsenal first-team, and his inclusion in the squad now midweek means Emery’s men now have a serious chance of overturning their 3-1 deficit.

Indeed, the Frenchman both assisted Granit Xhaka’s opening goal and won the penalty that allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to slot in the winning goal to send Arsenal into the top four of the Premier League table.

So, his impact on the game Thursday night could be the difference between progression to the Europa League quarter-finals or European embarrassment in a competition the Gunners were strong favourites for.

In the competition this season the former Lyon striker has been one of the Gunners’ key players, scoring the goal that sent Arsenal into the knockout round of the Europa League in a 1-0 against Qarabag. Clearly, he’s the man Unai Emery can rely on.

Arsenal fans, do you think Lacazette will make an impact on Thursday?

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Aston Villa’s play-off hopes have gathered momentum at just the right time with the club winning their previous five games in the Championship.

In recent wins over Middlesbrough and Blackburn one man, particularly, has stood out; Anwar El Ghazi.

As a result, Villa fans have been discussing the player, reacting to a tweet on the club’s official Twitter account.

There was a mixed response to the player, with some absolutely loving the displays the winger has turned out of late; saying he was on fire and that he’d been amazing.

However, other fans of the Villans were a bit calmer in their response. One claimed he never gets enough credit whilst another added that he needed to find consistency.

Despite that, some supporters urged the club to sign him permanently.

El Ghazi is currently on loan at Villa Park from Lille after arriving in the summer.

The Dutchman has managed a goal and an assist in his last two games which has taken his tally for the campaign to four assists and five goals.

Here’s the best of what Villa fans have been saying.

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Jack Grealish has revealed via his official Twitter account that he is raring to go ahead of Aston Villa’s return to Championship action this weekend.

The Midlands outfit will be looking to put their fifth straight Championship win on the board when they welcome Blackburn Rovers to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.

Grealish has been in outstanding form since returning from injury and the Villa supporters are hoping that the 23-year-old will put in another impressive performance against Rovers.

There continues to be speculation surrounding the future of the attacker, which is not a surprise when considering his talent.

Grealish is currently leading his side’s charge up the table, however, and he will be fully focused on helping his team secure at least a playoff spot in the coming weeks.

To be honest, the Villa fans absolutely adore the 5 ft 9 ace and a selection of their Twitter reaction to his post on social media can be seen below:

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Arsenal fans on Twitter have been left dumbfounded as it was announced that academy product Gedion Zelalem had departed the club on a free transfer.

The 22-year-old has moved to MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City, bringing a six-year association with the club to an abrupt and unfulfilled end and leaving many fans frustrated.

When the midfielder became the youngest Gunners player in FA Cup history in January 2014 by making an appearance against Coventry City, there was much excitement among Gooners, who believed that the club had a genuine talent on their hands.

The belief that Zelalem would one day break through and become a first-team regular is clearly one that was still held by fans up until he moved on to his native USA on Monday.

However, the relevant internal parties at Arsenal seemingly felt something different and have allowed Zelalem to switch North London for Kansas.

Check out some of the best reactive Tweets from the Emirates faithful, below…

Is Clint Dempsey the greatest American footballer to play in the Premier League? If you were to ask Fulham supporters that question, their unanimous response would be to say yes.

The forward began his career in his native country with New England Revolution after being drafted by the club in 2004 and immediately began to send shock-waves through the MLS. Despite only being 21-years-old at the time, he enjoyed a fruitful debut campaign, scoring seven goals in 21 appearances for the Revs.

The following season saw him play an integral role in his club’s route to the MLS Cup final as he recorded nineteen goal contributions in just 26 games. However, New England would end up losing the final to LA Galaxy before being defeated at the same stage in 2006 by Houston Dynamo.

Needing a fresh challenge, Dempsey decided to join Fulham later that year in a deal that according to the BBC was worth £2m, which was a Premier League record-fee for an American-born player at the time. His first season at Craven Cottage was a relatively quiet one compared to his MLS escapades yet he did play a key role in saving his new side from relegation.

With two games to go, Fulham were in desperate need of a hero to ensure that they would keep their top-flight status for another season and Dempsey stepped up to the plate, scoring the winner in their game against Liverpool. If the Cottagers had lost or drawn this particular game, they would have been playing Championship football in the following campaign.

Dempsey added to his legacy at the club by contributing to what is arguably Fulham’s greatest modern-day achievement in 2010. After securing Europa League football for the very first time in their history in the 2008/09 campaign, the Cottagers faced Italian giants Juventus in the last-16 of the competition.

A 3-1 defeat on their travels in the first leg left Roy Hodgson’s side with a mountain to climb at Craven Cottage yet they had levelled the tie by the 60th minute at 4-4 on aggregate courtesy of a brace from Zoltan Gera and a goal from Bobby Zamora which cancelled out David Trezeguet’s early strike for I Bianconeri.

With the game heading for extra-time, Dempsey produced a sublime piece of skill to lob Antonio Chimenti in the Juve goal from just outside of the penalty area. It was a goal which will be forever remembered by the club’s supporters as the moment where they started to believe that their side could go far in the Europa League.

Victories over Bundesliga sides Wolfsburg and Hamburg in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the competition set up a meeting with Atletico Madrid in the final. However, despite playing an integral role in Fulham’s success in the competition, Dempsey only featured as a substitute against Los Rojiblancos as the Spanish side defeated their spirited opponents in extra-time thanks to a brace from Uruguayan forward Diego Forlan.

Despite their heartbreaking defeat, the Cottagers’ players returned to England as heroes for their exploits in Europe with Dempsey leading the way. In the following two seasons for the club, the former New England player top-scored with 12, and 17 Premier League goals before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 2012.

Although he did make a brief and albeit unsuccessful return to Craven Cottage in 2014 on loan from MLS side Seattle Sounders, his first spell is what he will be remembered for by the club’s supporters. By scoring 60 goals in 225 appearances, Dempsey changed opinions regarding American players in England and ultimately secured his place as a modern-day legend for Fulham.

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Newcastle United’s young lads continued their fine season with a fantastic 3-2 win at the Bet 365 Stadium to secure a play-off spot in Group Two of Premier League 2.

The Toon found themselves two goals down at half-time but a double from captain Owen Bailey and one from Yannick Toure secured a wonderful win for the team in black and white.

Owen Bailey had missed a penalty in the first half but he picked himself up to score two bullet headers, the result leaves Newcastle third in the table with two games of the season remaining.

The team manged by Ben Dawson; who took over after Peter Beardsley was sacked for bullying and racism, have had a brilliant season with Elias Sorensen second top goal scorer and Sean Longstaff making a breakthrough into the first team and excelling.

This result has led to many Toon fans heaping the praise on what appears to be a talented set of youngsters on Tyneside.

أكد وليد صلاح الدين لاعب الأهلي السابق والمحلل الرياضي الحالي أن مصر تمتلك أفضل لاعبين وأندية على مستوى القارة الإفريقية، مُشيرا إلى تفوق قطبي الكرة المصرية على الوداد والرجاء في ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري الأبطال.

وكان الأهلي قد نجح في الفوز على الوداد أول أمس بثنائية نظيفة على ملعبهم بالدار البيضاء، قبل أن يلحق الزمالك هزيمة بالرجاء بهدف دون رد على نفس الملعب.

وقال وليد صلاح الدين خلال مداخلة ببرنامج “وان تو” عبر أثير “أون تايم سبورت”: “نحن أقوياء جدا ولدينا أفضل كرة وأفضل أندية ولاعبين ولكن دائما لا ننظر إلا للسلبيات ولدينا جلد ذات كبير”.

وتابع: “إن شاء الله نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا يكون مصريًا بين الأهلي والزمالك على ملعب استاد القاهرة، ويحصل بيراميدز على لقب الكونفدرالية وتعود الكرة المصرية للسيطرة على القارة”.

وأضاف: “الناس جميعا في الوطن العربي وأنحاء العالم يعرفون أننا كبار، وأننا نمتلك أفضل منتخب في إفريقيا والزمالك قاهر إفريقيا والأهلي نادي القرن ولكن نحن لا نشعر بذلك، أتمنى أن يتخطى القطبان عقبة مبارتي الإياب”.

وأتم: “نحن متفوقون في كل شئ حتى أن الأهلي والزمالك هما فقط من كانا ينافسان على لقب نادي القرن الإفريقي”.

وتقام مباراة الإياب بين الأهلي والوداد يوم الجمعة المقبل على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي، فيما يقام لقاء الزمالك والرجاء في اليوم التالي على الملعب ذاته.

Former Whites boss David O’Leary wasn’t afraid of the transfer market between 1998 and 2002, and though his exuberant spending may have later financially crippled Leeds United, it gave birth to one of the finest players to ever grace Elland Road, Mark Viduka.

Simply put Mark Viduka was one of the best bits of business Leeds United and David O’Leary have done in recent memory. We say that not because he was a particularly cheap player – he arrived for a club record fee £6 million (as per the club’s official site) – rather the Australian was a great bit of transfer wizardry because he was an absolutely sensational player who provided plenty of priceless memories. You know, the kind neutrals tend to remember because they’re actually just very good at kicking a football.

After dominating the Scottish Premiership and scoring 27 goals for Celtic in the single season he played at Parkhead, O’Leary saw fit to release the beast from his Scottish confines onto the poor and unsuspecting Premier League. Alongside a young boy wonder, Alan Smith, Viduka collected 22 goals during his debut campaign, hoisting Leeds United into fourth position and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. Not to mention the utter madness that unfolded in November 2000 with the forward claiming all four goals in Leeds United’s 4-3 victory over Liverpool at Elland Road.

However, even some of the worst players can have random splurges of genius. It takes real talent to turn up over and over and perform at the highest level, which is exactly what the beast did during the 2001/02 campaign – collecting a cool 16 goals in all competitions, including a winner against the Gunners at their Highbury fortress.

Indeed, to spindle the same sort of footballing magic Viduka managed on such a consistent basis despite Leeds United slowly making their ill-fated descent toward Premier League relegation is truly remarkable, and the 11 League goals he bagged in his final year at Leeds proved to be some of the clubs last in topflight thanks to an ongoing absence.

Following Leeds’ drop, Viduka moved to Middlesbrough where he played a pivotal in their run-in to the 2006 UEFA Cup final, before retiring at Newcastle United.

What a player, what an icon and what a career.